My cover of “Into the Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty. I play the main verse pretty much the way Petty does, as far as I can hear. I’ve re-arranged the chorus section a bit to try to closer mimic the multiple instrumental layers you hear on the album.
** EDITOR’S NOTE **
The title track to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1991 album of the same name, “Into the Great Wide Open” may not have topped the charts, but is an excellent song that deserves appreciation. Even though it fell a full sixty-four slots shy of its predecessor “Learning to Fly,” Petty did manage to produce an outstanding music video for this song. And it even starred a young Johnny Depp as Eddie Rebel with supporting roles by Chynna Phillips (of Wilson Phillips), and Matt LeBlanc (of Friends fame).
They truly don’t make music videos like this anymore, so if you haven’t seen it, you should really take the time to do so. Go ahead, that’s what YouTube is for, right?
What makes “Into the Great Wide Open” such an excellent candidate for an acoustic cover? Well, there’s the catchy, powerful acoustic strumming before the chorus, never mind the fact that this is certainly a song that comes across well when played with a minimal arrangement.
As per usual, Jeremy has demonstrated great taste and considerable ability in his performance of this Tom Petty classic. I had forgotten how much I love this song and this album, and I’ve already watched Jeremy’s video several times over the past few days, enjoying this stripped down rendition. On behalf of the Laptop Sessions, I thank Jeremy for yet another wonderful video. Here’s to many more in 2010!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Originally released on the 1980 Bob Marley & the Wailers album Uprising, “Redemption Song” is the final track on the final studio album release before Marley’s death in 1981. It is also significant for having been hailed as an acoustic folk classic by many fans and critics.
Jeremy Hammond, continuing to bring great new bands to the Laptop Sessions blog, plays a heartfelt version for you in this post, complete with a nice fingerpicking section on the intro to the song. And, please don’t adjust your screen or worry about what you’ve been inhaling… that’s a purposeful visual effect on Jeremy’s video! 🙂
We hope you enjoy this latest installment of the Guest Sessions with our favorite contributor, Jeremy Hammond. May it help to bring hope and peace to your holidays!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Hello and welcome to another week of rock’n’roll related intrigue at the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video blog! This is an exciting time for the blog, as we have consistently been pumping out more quality material for you than any time since the session-a-day project ended. This week, for instance, you can look forward to your typical Monday and Tuesday excellence in cover song music video form, a final Jimi Hendrix-themed edition of “Yes, No, or Maybe So, Retro,” two more installments in the “Top Five Rock Artists of the Decade, 2000-2009” list, a Guest Session on Friday by an all-new contributor (bringing back an oft-covered band), AND it’ll all be tied up by a full length Weekend Review on Sunday.
Not bad for a free blog…
Tonight, I bring you “Wilted Rose,” a song from the Vanity Project’s 2005 self-titled debut release. For those of you unfamiliar with the Vanity Project, this is the title of former Barenaked Ladies co-frontman Steven Page’s solo album. Well, it’s not technically a solo album in the strictest sense of the term, but for all intents and purposes, The Vanity Project is a Page solo album populated mainly by collaborations with Stephen Duffy. Page and Duffy have been swapping lines and tunes for years, and many of their co-written efforts have been recorded by the Barenaked Ladies. Here, Page is able to record those songs that simply weren’t a clear fit for the Barenaked Ladies.
I couldn’t believe one of us hadn’t already recorded this song for the blog — after all, it was included in the official MoU chordbook, even though it was only a rare live track. In addition, this is the right time to have Steven Page on the brain, as the first of two Page solo efforts was due in stores the next day. Now, that release is the less-anticipated A Singer Must Die, a collection of ten cover songs performed with the Art of Time Ensemble. Although I’m much more interested and excited for his first solo album proper, Page certainly picked out some interesting tunes to cover — the title track from Leonard Cohen and “For We Are the King of the Boudoir” by the Magnetic Fields to name a couple. Some of his other choices boggle my mind — why re-record “Running Out of Ink” so soon, for example? Or why attempt an Elvis Costello deep track like “I Want You” when Fiona Apple’s cover version is already the quintessential take on it?
Overall, I can’t imagine quite what this album will sound like, but I’m very excited to hear it. There’s only one problem: even Newbury Comics didn’t include it on their “new releases” list.
You know your release is under the radar when not even Newbury Comics is aware of its existence.
I honestly would have pre-ordered it to get it complete with Page’s autograph, but I couldn’t see spending the full price of the CD plus a considerable fee for shipping and handling. Thus, I’ll need to get creative and soon!
Until you get a chance to listen to (or even find) A Singer Must Die, I hope you enjoy my music video of the night.
It’s official: the Christmas season is upon us yet again! I, for one, found it difficult to concentrate on the work I brought home this weekend, choosing instead to listen to Christmas music — specifically that on Bob Dylan’s new 2009 holiday album Christmas in the Heart (see my review here!) — and playing some of my favorite seasonal songs on acoustic guitar. One of my new favorites is a song written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks titled “Must Be Santa.”
Now, before you get too excited, I should begin by making it very clear that tonight I am covering Bob Dylan’s rendition of “Must Be Santa” and NOT the performance “popularized” by Mr. Music and the Cool Kids Chorus.
Please don’t be disappointed…
Seriously, though, if you would like to hear that rocking version, you’ll just have to download it for yourself. Or the versions by Mitch Miller, Raffi, Point Sebago Resort, Glen Burtnik, Miss Lisa, Miss Molly, The Friel Brothers, The Angel Choir, The Holly Players Orchestra, The Hit Crew, Mary Lambert, Bob McGrath, Kids Sing’n, the Pokemon Christmas Bash band, or Lorne Greene with the Jimmy Joyce Children’s Choir — good luck finding that last one.
If you’re craving a good polka, then don’t miss out on the Brave Combo version (which, ironically, is the closest in style and arrangement to Dylan’s).
And who could forget the Kids Rap’n the Christmas Hits version?
These cover songs range from boring to funny to vomit-inducing and back again. This brings me to the Bob Dylan version, which is a breath of fresh air when played beside these other covers. Dylan’s “Must Be Santa” is a frantic, polka-inspired three minutes of Christmas spirit, accordions, and bright choral vocals built up around Dylan’s gruff lead. Recorded nearly half a century after Mitch Miller first recorded the song in 1961, it is interesting to see how our image of Santa and the general sound and style of Christmas music (i.e. both sets of chord changes as the song progresses a la so many other seasonal favorites) really haven’t changed much in all this time.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Dylan’s album — and his recent work in general — is an homage to a simpler time in American popular music.
That is perhaps why Dylan’s new album, time-ravaged vocals and all, has slipped in so quickly among my favorite Christmas albums of all time. Although it was recorded earlier this year, there is a sense of nostalgia and even timelessness in each of its tracks. Somehow, he has managed to record the songs in a style that seems very natural from his current studio band. Indeed, Dylan has seemingly reached further and further into the past for the styles of his past several albums. In this sense, 2009 was the ideal year for him to record an album of traditional favorites and holiday songs from earlier in the century.
I don’t think any music will ever usurp the positions that The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album and the Moody Blues’ December currently hold in my heart. The Barenaked Ladies’ Barenaked for the Holidays, Brian Wilson’s What I Really Want For Christmas, and America’s Harmony are certainly the next runners up. Some of my attachment to this music is admittedly due to my own personal memories, such as listening to the Beach Boys each year as my family decorated the tree and attending a Moody Blues Christmas concert with two of my dearest friends several years ago. That being said, there is also a universal element to the music on these records that I can’t imagine any fan of rock music being able to deny. Somehow, these aforementioned bands have managed to incorporate religious hymns, classic rock Christmas songs, and originals into unified works that I look forward to dusting off each and every year.
For now, I’m wading into the music of season via this new Dylan album. After all, this is the punchline of a joke I’ve been making for as many years as I’ve loved Bob Dylan — “Imagine if Dylan recorded a Christmas album!” My friends and I would laugh, but I was always privately jealous that their favorite bands — the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, etc. — had recorded Christmas albums or at least a Christmas song or two.
Now, I have my secret wish, and I couldn’t be happier!
Yes, Dylan’s voice is rugged, and truth be told, I was a bit hesitant to embrace this album when I gave it one listen upon its release a month ago. However, it only took a second listen for me to get hooked.
Whatever music you may enjoy listening to at this time of the year, I hope you’re enjoying it.
